there's about twenty solid christmas songs.

unless it's a particularly bad arrangement, usually these are all stellar christmas songs:

little drummer boy

o come emmanuel

love came down at christmas

noel

judy garland's merry little christmas

o holy night

taylor swift's santa baby

all i want for christmas is you

mary did you know

do you hear what I hear

all of andrew peterson's Behold The Lamb of God album

the 4th!

the 4th of July still happens in England!

they don't do that in england.

Apparently, St. Patrick's Day is a bigger deal in America than it is in England. Feel free to muse why.

My green jacket saved my from my pinch-aspiring American roommate.

yes, i post this alot

On my original blog, I think I've posted this upwards of two times.

But it's that time of year again, and I really like St. Patrick's Day. He just had this amazing life, and I can't wait to hear it from his own lips in heaven.

This prayer's authorship is attributed to St. Patrick.


I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayer of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightening,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison,against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

Last Saturday night, we went to Trafalgar Square in Covent Garden and sang Christmas carols to passerbys and bystanders (I chose those two words because they both have "by" in them). A few hundred stopped and joined in. It was really cold, but really a neat experience.

I have also been exposed to the British Christmas tradition of mince pies and mulled wine- both are great.

on patriotism & style

I've never been labeled particularly fashionable, though I've gone considerably far from the days of untamed hair (who knew it was actually rather curly) and big nineties glasses. In high school, my best friend was super-cute, and I found her example inspiring.

In college, one of my roommates, besides being naturally gorgeous, had an incredible eye for style. She taught me all the rules and had a large closet. My wardrobe is sadly lacking since we "broke up", i.e. are no longer roommates.

So now I'm left to my own devices.




















I was pretty proud of myself when I put together this outfit on July 3, not even thinking of styling for Independence Day, which was the next day. But the next day was Independence Day, so it worked out even better.

Maybe the tide has turned.

back from pensacola

Pensacola was awesome.

Usually when I've gone to stay with K. and K. at their parents', we just chill. This weekend, we managed to squeeze in quite a bit.

Friday morning we hustled out to the base to go running. We found plenty of food to eat. We did a little shopping in Alabama. I scored a smart sweater for London weather.

Best of all, I got to go sailing! Kristi's parents got a small catamaran, and I was so excited to take it out. Like always, we met a new slew of marines, air force, and navy people. I also appreciated the chance to hangout with people who are in active duty on Independence Day.

st. patrick

I'll post this now so you may be adequately prepared to observe tomorrow.

St. Patrick was not Irish. I know, bummer. Fold up the four-leaved clovers wall decorations and save the money you'd have spent on beer. Just kidding. About the beer.

I'll put some links below, so you can get the scintillating details. But here's the skinny:

He grew up in Britain and was kinapped from his village by Irishmen when he was in his teens (this was all towards the end of the fourth century). He had grown up with a strong Christian family, but by his admissions, was a rather wild kid. It was while he was in Ireland working as a slave that he grew to know God.

Years later, he escaped from Ireland. One night, he had a vision in which the Irish were calling out to him to come and work among them again, God telling him to return. Some of what happened in the time between his escape from Ireland and his return to it seem disputed by scholars. But he did return.

Patrick and his monks are largely attributed the credit for lessening the influence of the pagan worshippers and also for spreading Christianity over the island.

These give you some more of the meat: Good, better, best. Seriously, Patrick was one cool dude.

{appearing concurrently in Philosophizings from the Flat}

{spring equinox}

What is March 20th? Why, yes, it's the first day of spring.

It's the spring equinox also.

There are two solstices and two equinoxes yearly. The summer solstice seems to get the most publicity but the rest are just as cool.

Look this stuff up for your own edification, but I will tell you about the things I remember from my own research.

The equinoxes are when the days and nights are equal in length. The summer solstice is the longest day and the winter solstice is the shortest day. Of course, this is all more dramatic if you live very far from the equator, near the poles.

I can totally understand why some Scandinavian countries want to celebrate Midsummer after suffering through near darkeness for the winter months.

I do my utmost do mark all important (especially worthy, obscure) holidays. I'll let you know what plans I cook up.